What I Learned This Summer

This summer has been one for the record books. I went on a 48 hour vacation to Delaware which set me back financially - no refunds for early departures. I've been to emergency rooms 3 times; twice for the roomie and once for Callie. All turned out good thankfully. I've eaten watermelon almost daily. There has been ice cream. There have been projects completed; a more organized basement, purging on all floors (thank you The Art of Tidying Up), carpet torn up, laminate down and more. There are projects left to do - display board for my Disney pins. I washed my iPhone 6 accidentally and to say I'm lost without it would be an understatement. My 19.5 year old cat died in my arms. Within less than a year I've lost my fur family. I went camping for the first time in years. I spent lots of time at the beach and had lovely days with friends. And there was also the addition of two cocker spaniel puppies into the mix.

As my first day back to work gets closer I've thought about ways to make home chores less stressful and more productive. I think what I'm trying to say is I want home to be more meaningful and less about the to do list. Here's my plan:

1. Change the day we grocery shop. We've been going Sunday mornings. Great for no crowds - no so great for prepping food for the week. The roomie usually spends Sunday with her family so it's a day just for me. Prepping food isn't high on my list. I'd rather read, nap, craft or head to the beach. By changing our shopping day to Thursday or Friday night - depending on the our schedules, I'll still have time to prep food for Monday and me time. Win/win as far as I can tell. New shopping night starts tonight.

2. Meal planning. This is one of those areas where I talk the talk but don't walk the walk. I want to eat healthier but don't want to put the effort or time into making that happen. If only I could hire a personal chef! Weekly menus are coming back. They will be posted in the kitchen so no matter who gets home first - they can get started on putting dinner together. I'm hoping the meal planning will make meal times easier and healthier.

3. Food prep. To make the most out of the meal planning I'm going to spend time over the weekend getting foods ready for the week. Chopping up veggies,  making salads for work and home, packing snack bags and filling up my water bottles. By shopping earlier in the week I'll have the time for getting food ready. I am also hoping I won't need to rely on prepackaged foods so heavily.

4. Prep every night. When I was a child my Mom used to make me lay my clothes out and get my school supplies ready every night. I want to do that again. I want my breakfast prepped, dog bowls filled and ready for next morning, clothes picked out and supplies gathered. I also want to pick up the house before I go to bed; something I've been doing for a while and works.

5. Switch my Monday night to Sunday. Every Monday after work I gather all the garbage so it's ready to go out to the curb later that evening. And every Monday after work I am tired. My plan is to pull the garbage sometime on Sunday.

6. Take it easy Wednesday. Every Wednesday, no matter how much sleep I get, I am exhausted. And every Wednesday I fight my way through the exhaustion. My new plan is to back off on Wednesdays. I already know I'm tired so I'm going to use that to my advantage. Wednesday will be an easy meal night - think crock pot. Wednesday will be relaxing at home instead of working on projects.

My summer has been busy, enjoyable, relaxing, sad and fun; everything that makes summer so wonderful. As I head back to work I'd like to keep that summer feeling going. Hopefully the new plans will work and I'll find myself enjoying fall just as much. Progress posts will be coming in August.